Let's Try Something New Tonight!

Yesterday (Sunday) was so relaxing and leisurely. I was in the mood to make something a bit more involved and delicious, so I decided to make one of my favorite Indonesian dishes, Beef Rendang, or Rendang Daging Sapi. I know, the ingredients list is a mile long, and the process takes all afternoon (did I mention “leisurely”). But this dish is worth the effort, and your family will be drawn in by the fragrant, intoxicating and spicy Indonesian smells coming from the kitchen! Definitely a Sunday recipe. I hope you’ll try this dish when you have the time!

Make a past be first processing the nutmeg and cloves into a powder in a food processor. Add the shallots, garlic, chilies, turmeric, Laos powder, ginger and candlenuts. process until you have a smooth paste.

In a large bowl, combine the beef and spice paste.

In a large Dutch oven, combine the beef mixture, coconut milk, brown sugar and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low, add the lemongrass knots, cinnamon stick and kaffir lime leaves. Stir gently until ingredients are combined. Simmer gently, uncovered, until just about all the liquid is evaporated, the oil from the meat and coconut milk is visible and the meat is very dark and tender. This process can take up to 3 hours, so you’ll need to be sure to stir about every half hour (mine goes the full 3 hours). Remove from heat, stir in the kecap manis and season with additional salt if desired. Serve with steamed jasmine rice and your favorite Indonesian sambals.

For those of you who saw my last post (and those who didn’t), I made chicken saltimbocca and chose to serve it with this orzo dish. The two went very well together. We all know orzo dishes (picnics, pitch-ins, 4th of July, etc.), but this version has a very sophisticated, wonderful and savory flavor — the orange and thyme are very mild, but give this dish it’s uniqueness among orzo dishes. Delicious, I hope you’ll try this simple, elegant dish tonight!

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add orzo and (pre)cook for six minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. Add drained orzo to a large sauce pan, and add stock, orange zest and thyme. Bring back to a boil, then reduce heat to medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese, salt and pepper until well-incorporated. Plate and garnish with parsley. Serve immediately.

Like this:

This dish is popular in northern Italy and Switzerland, but there are several variations around the Mediterranean. “Saltimbocca” means “jumps in your mouth,” and for very good reason — this dish is so simple and delicious, once you try it, you’ll understand why! In general, saltimbocca is a meat, such as veal or chicken, wrapped with sage leaves and prosciutto. It’s typically served with simple sauce, cooked in the same skillet as you cook the meat (hardly ever can go wrong with that). Very good — hope you’ll try it tonight!

Sprinkle each breast with plenty of salt and pepper on both sides. Place 3 sage leaves on top of each breast, then place prosciutto on top (enough to cover the top of each breast in a single layer), pressing to adhere — if it’s thin enough, it will stick should stick like plastic wrap.

Place 1/2 cup of the flour in a shallow dish. Gently dredge each breast, shaking off excess flour.

Melt butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once foam subsides, place each breast, prosciutto-side down, into skillet. Cook 4 minutes, then gently turn over and cook an additional 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Whisk wine and last 2 tsp flour in a small bowl. Add broth, lemon juice and wine mixture to the same skillet. Whisk until sauce thickens a bit. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper.

Place chicken breasts on individual plates. Top each with a bit of the lemon-wine sauce and garnish with chopped parsley. Here I served the chicken with steamed asparagus and orange and thyme-scented orzo (the recipe for which, I’ll blog about soon because it’s so delicious!).

Yesterday, I decided to make home-made gnocchi (a pain in the @$$, but well worth it on a Sunday afternoon). This recipe is pretty common, but I added some lemon zest and sherry, and some additional nutmeg. With the browned sage butter and Parmesan cheese…mmm, fantastic! I hope you’ll try this some weekend when you have some “me” time!

Place squash half (cut side down) on a baking sheet. Brush each with olive oil. Place in oven and roast 1 1/2 hours. Remove and let cool for a few minutes. Scoop out flesh and place in a food processor. Process until smooth. Place in a large bowl and set aside.

Boil potato in salted water for 20 minutes. Drain. Rice potatoes into a bowl. Measure out 2, loosely packet cups and add to squash.

To the squash mixture, add 1/2 cup Parmesan, egg, nutmeg, salt, lemon zest and sherry. Gradually add the flour, kneading gently. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Gently knead a bit further (but don’t overdo it!). Divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 1/2-inch rope. Cut each rope into 3/4-inch pieces. Using your hands (and additional flour, if necessary) roll each piece into the shape of a mini football. Place on baking sheets that have been lined with parchment paper. Cover each sheet with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add gnocchi and cook for 17 minutes. Drain and set aside.

In a small sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add sage and cook until butter is light-brown in color, about 4 minutes.

Place gnocchi and butter mixture in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Toss and place on serving plates. Garnish with the remaining Parmesan. Serve with a simple lemon-vinaigrette salad.

I’m not a big dessert cook, but now and again I’ll make something that I really like. This recipe for flan is one of my favorites — it’s unique, simple and heavenly. This recipe was given to me by acclaimed dessert and salad chef, Rachel Bowen — I’m only hoping the way I make it is at least half as good as hers! This flan is decadent and delicious — I hope you’ll try it soon!

Caramelize sugar by placing it in a heavy skillet over high heat. Stir constantly until dissolved and chestnut-brown. Be very careful not to burn — if burnt, start over again! Pour immediately into a 7 inch diameter by 3 inch high ceramic dish. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, prepare custard mixture by first beating eggs lightly in a mixer for about 1 minute. Add condensed milk and blend for another minute. Add cream cheese and beat until well-incorporated. Add milk and vanilla and blend for another minute.

Pour custard mixture over caramelized sugar. Place dish in a pan — add water to pan so that the dish is submerged 1 inch. Place in oven and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Remove from oven and let cool completely to room temperature. Run a very sharp knife around dish to loosen flan. Invert onto a serving platter and garnish with blueberries. Serve and enjoy!

Hi, so last night I had a hankerin’ for some good, old-fashioned German comfort food, so I decided to make one of my faves, Jägerschnitzel (right up there with Königsberger Klopse and Falscher Hase!). Jägerschnitzel means “hunter cutlet” in English — don’t ask me why they call it that, because I don’t know. Anyway, I always am sure to feast on this dish at least a couple of times when I’m in Germany, regardless of the season. The dish is so delicious, easy to prepare and worth the calories — hope you’ll try it out sometime this week and let me know what you think!

Heat butter in a large sauté over medium heat. Once foam subsides, add onions and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in mushrooms and cook until they’ve released their liquid, about 10 minutes. Stir in 1 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper and the 1 tsp paprika. Stir constantly for an additional 1 minute. Turn heat to high, and stir in beef stock. Bring to a boil, then cook down until the liquid is reduced by 1 half. Remove from heat and stir in cream and 2 Tbsp parsley. Season with additional salt and pepper if desired (keeping in mind that there’s a bunch of salt and pepper on the cutlets). Set aside.

Sprinkle each cutlet with remaining salt and pepper on each side. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, cook each of the cutlets, one at a time, until they are browned and cooked through (about a minute and a half each) — keep cutlets warm, covered with aluminum foil in oven.

Plate each of the cutlets with a portion of spätzle. Spoon mushroom sauce over each and garnish with remaining chopped parsley and serve.

Hi everyone, and happy fall (or spring in the Southern hemisphere)! The herbs in the garden are about to become history when the first frost hits (any time now), so I wanted to make the most of them. Also, I wanted to take advantage of the few farm stands that still have fresh, tasty heirloom tomatoes, so I decided to make this dish — fantastic! The simple, fresh ingredients all come together in this European-style, savory pie. I served it with a simple green salad, and it was a perfect, light meal. I hope you’ll try this before the fresh tomatoes and herbs are done for the season!

Assemble tarte by lining bottom of pie shell with tomato slices and top with the cheese mixture. Place in oven and bake for 40 – 45 minutes, until golden brown (rotating 180 degrees halfway into baking). Remove and let cool to room temperature before serving.